Huntington Beach State Park day 1

Sat. March 8

Well I didn’t think it had rained all that much last night, but obviously it did as the canopy broke. Long story, so I won’t dwell on it. Just add it to the growning repair list.
We take the dogs for a walk on the beach. The snow, I mean sand is blowing in gusts; I cover my camera with a plastic bag on the return trip upwind. Dogs have a grand time in the waves, Leila standing out in the waves waiting for me to throw a stick. There is almost nothing on this section of the beach except sand of course.
At noon we take the 40 min. guided tour of Atalaya, the name of the Moorish style castle built by Anna & Archer Huntington back in the 1930’s as a winter residence. Their’s is an interesting story: she a reknown sculptress and he a wealthy philanthropist who endowed museums, designed gardens, wrote poetry and did Spanish to English translations. Anna, who suffered from TB, earned $50,000 a year from her sculptures. The building is quite stark, concrete and brick built at the time right next to the ocean. Nowadays there is considerable beach in front of it. 75 windows are covered with decorative grillwork, each costing $500. Archer paid to have a hydro line strung from Georgetown, 20 miles away. A telephone line connected them to the local exchange; a house phone system connected their living quarters to the staff; hot running water was available in 4 bathrooms, a large shower with 7 shower heads, … Perhaps I can find a web source for you to read more about this interesting couple who had no children.